By George M.O. Williams
Hundreds of traders mostly women have been rendered jobless when security personnel destroyed their stalls along the Sani Abache Street in the central business district of Freetown during a curfew on Wednesday.
Security personnel have now been stationed to enforce a non-trading regulation in Abacha Street.
This comes few weeks to the reopening of schools when the traders mostly single-parent women, will have to raise funds to get their children enroll in both junior and senior secondary schools.
Asatu Kamara, an affected trader and a single parent, said that she has three kids she cares for. She said that now that her stall has been destroyed by security personnel she couldn’t fend for the kids. She said two of the kids were promoted to JSS1, but she is constrained to get them enroll into junior secondary because her source of livelihood has been shattered and she could get another place to trade.
The Chairlady of Upper East Street Market, Mariama Mutarr, said that Abacha Street traders are dissatisfied over the demolition of their market stalls, an act which she claimed was instructed and done by faction of state authorities during the curfew hours.
It should be noted that the Government of Sierra Leone instituted curfew in Western Urban and Rural Area, Makeni, Magburaka, and Kamakwie after violent protests on Wednesday, August 10, 2022, which left dozens of people dead, and property destroyed in several part of the country.
She said that the destruction of the stalls of traders is affecting their daily earnings to survive. She said that most of the affected women traders took microcredit to finance their trade, and they must pay back these loans on a weekly basis.
She noted that as a temporary measure, they had asked traders in streets that are not affected to accommodate affected traders of Abacha Street.
She therefore called on the Government of Sierra Leone to allow them to continue to do their trade.
A Petty Trader, Isha Kargbo who sells spaghetti, Mayonnaise and other items, explained that on Thursday after she had visited the general store where their goods were kept the previous day, she was furious when she couldn’t find her goods which were placed in a barrel.
Kargbo said that the storekeeper was unable to give proper account of her missing goods, citing that she cannot continue to blame the storekeeper because the situation was not under his control.
She noted that her concern now is how to raise funds to continue her business since she could not find her goods.
She recounted that her husband died four years ago, leaving her with two children. She emphasized that her only source of income is her business.
Another Petty Trader, Mabinty Sesay, a mother of four children, said that destruction of her market stall has caused him financial loss.
The Mayor of Freetown, Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr averred that the ugly situation was brought to her attention via social media photos that portrayed the destroyed market stalls of Abacha Street traders, adding that this came as the city was counting the economic loss suffered as a result of the destruction of property as August 10 violent protests.
“I have also seen posts stating that the Freetown City Council is responsible for this. I would like to inform the general public that the Freetown City Council is not responsible for this action and did not participate in this night operation,” Mayor Aki-Sawyerr said.
Sewa Ground Market, a multi-million dollars ultra-modern market for street traders operating in the central part of Freetown, was partially completed during the Koroma Administration.
But since 2018, noting much was done by authorities to get the market completed for the relocation of street traders. The multipurpose market will be used as a mall, marketplace, lockup stores, car park, pharmacies and banking hall.